Chapter 183 Mystery In Stone Valley Part 13

Sitting at the small table writing down his findings, U-ri stared at Yun from time to time. He saw that Yun had been staring at the door since he entered the stone house. He closed his journal and sighed.

"My lady," U-ri said, handing Yun a piece of paper. "Don't worry, Yul and the others will return safely." 

Yun knew that U-ri handed her the paper so that she could communicate with him, but at this time, the paper was of no use to her. She pushed the paper back and said, "I don't need it." 

U-ri was shocked. "You can talk? But...everyone says you can't talk," U-ri said. 

Yun said, "Just because I don't speak doesn't mean I can't speak."

U-ri touched his beard, thought for a while, and said to himself, "I thought it might be because of the water in the real Phoenix Chamber." He looked at Yun. "My lady, please don't be angry, but I want to make something clear to you." 

Yun asked, "About what?" 

U-ri said, "Yul may not feel the same way about you as you do about him." 

Yun asked, "Why do you say that? He already has someone?" 

U-ri nodded and said, "He already has someone, not just someone, but a wife. You are a member of the upper class, and you should know that no one can refuse the imperial edict." 

Yun asked sadly, "So, Yul married a princess?" 

U-ri said, "It's not just a princess. The person Yul married is someone that even his majesty can't offend. Moreover, Yul swore never to marry anyone else. To avoid being sad, I suggested that Lady Yun stop looking for Yul." 

Yun said, "You are also speaking for that person, right?" 

U-ri said, "Yes... indeed I am, but that doesn't change the fact that Yul will not fall in love with another person." 

Yun said, "Sir U-ri, thank you for telling me this, but I want to hear Yul say it. I've been through hardships in the past, and I can accept rejection... aside." 

"Sir U-ri... Sir U-ri..." A voice came from outside. 

U-ri stood up and walked towards the door. He spotted a servant running toward him. "What's the matter, young man?" U-ri asked. 

The servant smiled and said, "Sir Abrafo asked me to come for you. They have found the last known location of the white hair man." 

"Oh... take me to them quickly," U-ri said with a smile. He went back inside and grabbed the medicine box and cross bag. He looked at Yun. "My Lady, I'm sorry that I can't accompany you anymore." 

Yun asked, "What's wrong? What happened?" 

U-ri smiled and said, "They found Hajime's last known location. I have to go." He quickly led the servant out the door. 

Yun watched as U-ri and the servant left, and when she was about to close the door, Meng came over from the left side of the house. 

"Are you ready to leave?" Meng asked. 

Yun looked at Meng and nodded. "I want to prepare a meal to thank my saviors." 

Meng smiled and said, "Meet me at our meeting point." 

Yun nodded and watched as Meng left and disappeared into the trees behind the stone house. 

Yul stood in the middle of the field, holding Hajime's half-burnt cross bag in his hand. He knew that Hajime must have come out alive and ran in the direction they were looking. 

Jin looked at Yul and said, "Captain Yul, if Hajime was coming this way, he might have many directions to run. Fortunately, we didn't find the body, which means Hajime is still alive." 

"Or maybe it was dragged away by some wild animal." Captain Li said. "It's not uncommon in these woods for animals to drag away carcasses." 

Yul looked at Captain Li and said, "Hajime's not dead. He's waiting somewhere for us to find him." He turned and started walking away with Michio and Abrafo. 

Feng shouted, "Captain Yul! Please Stop!" Yul turned around and saw Feng running towards him.

"Captain Yul. Please stop." He ran to Yul, Abrafo and Michio. "That area." He pointed to the large area in front of the three Tanzanies. "It's full of lava tubes. We've explored some of it, but there's a lot we haven't explored yet." 

Jin said, "That's right... there are bodies that we can't evacuate because we don't know where they are. There are endless tubes down there, and if you fall in and survived, you could end up wandering around in those endless tubes for days." 

Abrafo suddenly realized that Bong might be inside one of the lava tubes. "The woman who kidnapped Bong did say that she would tell us Bong's location, otherwise he would starve to death... Could it be that Bong is somewhere in these so-called lava tubes?" 

Jin nodded in agreement. "What you said does make sense," Jin said. 

Abrafo looked at everyone and said, "Then what are you waiting for? Let's start looking." 

Feng said, "But looking for Prince Bong in those lava tubes is like looking for a needle in a haystack." 

Bong said, "It doesn't matter, no matter what the outcome is, we will still search." 

Michio said, "It's better than doing nothing." 

Jin sighed and said, "Then we have to be careful not to fall into it." He looked at the men. "The depths are unknown. So, let's start where we know it's safe." 

Jin began leading the group down a joint of lava tubes covered in grass and wild vegetation. 

"Wait... wait..." U-ri shouted. 

"U-ri..." Michio said. "Why is U-ri here?" 

Abrafo said, "I ask for him. If Hajime is injured, U-ri can help treat him immediately." 

Yul said, "I... I failed to think of that." 

Abrafo gently patted Yul's shoulder and said, "That's where we come in... Whenever you don't remember or fail to realize, we'll fill that gap for you. And you do the same for us." 

Michio said, "Abrafo is right." 

Yul smiled at Abrafo and Michio. "I couldn't ask for better company." Then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Thinking that his eyes were wrong, he blinked a few times and turned to the left to look at the object. He took a closer look and found that the shiny object is similar to Hajime's marker. "Hajime..." Yul said. "That object looks a lot like Hajime's marker." 

Yul's words make Abrafo and Michio look to their left. 

Abrafo said, "This does look like Hajime's mark, but why is it so small?" He frowned and squinted to see if the object would be more visible. 

Michio glanced at the object and said, "You're right, Hajime seems to be marking his way out, but why make it smaller. He should make it as big as possible so that we can find him easier." 

Yul said, "Because he was injured and lacked energy." 

Abrafo said, "Then let's go and save him quickly. Who knows how injured he is. U-ri! Hurry up... We think we've found Hajime." 

U-ri and the others rushed to where Yul, Abrafo and Michio were standing. 

Yul looked at Jin and said, "We think Hajime is over there." 

Feng was taken aback. "That area..." he said with an uneasy look on his face.

Yul asked, "What about the area?" 

Feng said, "We have not explored that area before and don't know if there is any open hole. It's hard to find where the holes are because of the overgrown weeds." 

Captain Li said, "We don't need to go any further, there are overgrown weeds here. It's too dangerous. Who knows how many hidden holes there are under our feet. That's it for today." He looked at the soldiers behind him. "Mark our location. We'll be back fully prepared tomorrow and continue our search." 

Yul looked at Captain Li and said, "Hajime might not have one more day." 

Abrafo looked at Captain Li annoyingly and said, "If Captain Li wants to return to camp, no one will stop you. Hajime is our friend, and we are looking for him whether we are prepared or not. You can go and rest, then come back fully prepared tomorrow to look for your prince." 

Captain Li gritted his teeth, "You..." 

Abrafo sighed and turned away from Captain Li. 

Seeing that the situation might turn ugly, Jin said, "Captain Li, please report to Lord Lixin. Whatever is in front of us might not necessarily be Hajime or Prince Bong." He looked at the twenty soldiers. "If any of you don't want to go, that's totally up to you." 

Captain Li left with ten soldiers, and the other ten soldiers chose to stay and continue looking for Bong. 

Jin said to the people around him, "Everyone, watch your steps. We are entering unknown territory, and anything can happen. So, be sure to walk slowly. No rushing or running." 

Yul looked at Jin and said, "Thank you for helping us look for Hajime." 

Jin smiled, feeling a little guilty in his heart. He knew he was as eager to find Hajime as the other four Tanzanies because it was his duty to keep an eye on Hajime. This was why he was ordered by Lixin to make friends with the Tanzanies. "It's the least I can do for my friends," he said with a smile. "Let's go, remember to stay alert."

Michio asked, "Why do you pick fight wherever we go?"

Abrafo said, "I just didn't like that guy's attitude."

U-ri walked behind Abrafo and Michio and said, "Now I completely understand why some soldiers complain about you."

Abrafo turned around and asked, "Who complained about me? U-ri, you must tell me their names. When I return, I will punish them."

U-ri smiled and said, "Those soldiers are..."

U-ri continued to give some random names as the men slowly made their way through the weeds toward the shiny object in the distance.